GETTING BETTER
Fighting Christian Nationalism with Jonathan Van Ness
AU's Monthly Episode Drop with
Jonathan Van Ness
On Trans Day of Visibility this year, March 31st, the supreme court issued a decision in Chiles v Salazar, a case about conversion therapy. The decision allows a christian therapist to use talk conversion therapy on LGBTQ+ clients. A major step back and gut punch for the trans community and it’s allies.
These are dark times, but we’re not alone. We’re still here fighting, and we’re in the early weeks of SCOTUS decision season. Keep checking in here and our friends at AU will be sharing the wins and losses and what we can do to keep fighting for our rights to live as we are and believe as we choose, so long as we don’t harm others.
More AU Episodes with JVN
- March’s Docket drop is all about how even when it feels hard to find wins, Americans United is still out there fighting for freedom without favor and equality without exception! Things may look a bit different these days though. The cases more nuanced, the wins, hard to suss out. Because Christian Nationalists are literally at the helm of every powerful post in the capital and across the country. You’re going to see more lawsuits like one of the recent ones filed by AU. It’s a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request, because transparency is key right now! AU also filed a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The challenge is related to AU’s ongoing investigations into how federal agencies are implementing Trump’s February 2025 mandate to root out alleged “anti-Christian bias.”
- February’s Docket drop is all about how Americans United and Democracy Forward are suing the Trump Administration! Have you heard of the Religious Liberty Commission? Most people haven’t – it’s a commission created by Trump, which means legally it has to be transparent and fairly balanced. But it isn’t. It consists exclusively of Christians, except for one Orthodox Jewish Rabbi. The law says that if the government is going to build a panel that can shape policy, it can’t be stacked, hidden or tilted toward one viewpoint. The Religious Liberty Commission isn’t about religious liberty for everyone, it’s a government megaphone for one, narrow religious ideology. AU and Democracy Forward are fighting back.
Mark your calendars for Religious Freedom Day 2027 if you missed it this January. This is a great year to keep religious freedom front and center as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this Fourth of July. There’s going to be a lot of Christian Nationalism flying around – the important thing to remember is that just because you have your right to believe as you choose doesn’t mean you can force your beliefs on others.
And on January 20th AU filed two cases defending that right, both related to the Ten Commandments in public schools.
- December’s Docket Drop features all the hard work AU has done this year to fight back against the rise of Christian Nationalism and ensure everyone can live as they are and believe as they choose, so long as they don’t harm others. 2025 saw AU file more lawsuits than we had in previous years. Keeping up with the breakneck pace of violations of citizens’ religious freedoms. Including three lawsuits against the current administration, fighting their Christian Nationalist agenda.
- TX politicians are trying to force their religion on Texas school children. Putting the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments on every classroom. Baiting schools into using a textbook that forces Christianity on the students. And forcing all the school districts to vote on whether to start a school prayer period, as if our schools don’t have more important issues to worry about. AU is working with partners on fighting back on all fronts. They are suing the state over the Ten Commandments.
- Separation of Church and State is under attack, and the spread of White Christian Nationalism is ever present. Luckily, organizations like Americans United for Separation of Church and State are on the ground and fighting back in a major way. Brian Silva, the VP of Outreach from AU stopped by to discuss racism in America, the White Christian Nationalism, the entire right wing MAGA movement we’re seeing across this country, and this desire to uphold these white supremacy belief systems across this country. So what do we need to know about White Christian Nationalists and their racist agenda? Let’s talk about it.
- This week on The Monday Edit – we’re making public push back fun with Strict Scrutiny’s co-host Leah Litman talking all about her new book Lawless: How the Supreme Court Came to Run on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. We’re also talking about why public schools are becoming the battle ground for the separation of church and state with Alessandro Terenzoni, VP of Public Policy from Americans United for Separation of Church and State – we’re going IN on the supreme court this week, if you can’t already tell. Plus! We’re serving you a healthy dose of queer joy (like we always do over here on the Monday Edit, duh!).
